“SANA BUMAGYO”

One cannot blame the desperate to exhibit a moment of weakness. But one can condemn the system and institutions that make them desperate repeatedly. And in the Philippines, students are always desperate.

During the emergence of Typhoon Paeng at the end of October 2022, several schools announced their suspensions. It is no surprise to witness—in group chats, comment sections, and other various social media platforms—several students thrilled with the news of “extra rest days” despite the onslaught that was soon to ravage communities.

Student behavior before, during, and after calamities becomes a controversial subject. What does it say if the students’ first thought during the emergence of strong rains is “sana lumakas pa, para walang pasok”, and when students hope for a prolonged suspension through the storm’s activity? Is it a reflection of the deteriorating morality of students where they care more about the cancellation of classes over the safety of other people?

I’d like to think otherwise. This is but an unfortunate act of desperation—a call for help from students.

A research article indicated that the primary stressors of college students in the Philippines are academic difficulties, workloads, and time management with their subjects and organizations1. With the added challenges of the pandemic, such as an unconducive environment, lowered learning quality, and feelings of anxiety, bore- dom, grief, and isolation, the academic burnout and mental health decline of students become more frequent and prominent2-3.

In the life of a learner, almost all their courses mandate the submission of several outputs for a single semester. When these requirements accumulate, students experience what they aptly call “hell weeks”—a tiring cycle where the end of a finished output immediately signals the start of another. Sadly, the instructors focus much of their attention on pressuring students to produce quality yields but are stiff by what should come after—feedback. There is little to no assistance for improvement when these outputs are considered subpar. Students just usually hear “galingan niyo na lang sa susunod” and “bawi na lang kayo, madami pang ipapasa”.

It is difficult not to see that the educational system cares more about output-based performances than the actual learning progress of students. With this output-to-output pattern, school becomes a place of compliance, not of learning3.

In their moment of weakness, students unwillingly seek and await natural intervention, especially considering the high frequency of storms in the Philippines.

With the overwhelming stress, students are prone to exhibit anxiety, depression, worrying, and catastrophic thinking1. To exacerbate the circumstances, the Philippines is a country where mental health issues and concerns are still stigmatized4. Our culture finds it hard to differentiate anxiety and depression from “pag-iinarte”